Arkansas AD, Luck rule themselves out of Stanford search

It’s been just a week since Stanford announced the leadership of the search committee for a new athletic director. So it’s way too early in the process to make any guesses about who might win the job. But we know a couple of people who won’t be getting it.

One is Arkansas AD Jeff Long, about whom rumors were swirling this week in that state that he was a candidate at Stanford. Long, of course, was in the news recently when he fired football coach Bobby Petrino in the wake of a sex scandal that came to light after a motorcycle accident involving the coach and his mistress.

The Stanford rumors were strong enough that Long issued a statement Friday denying them and insisting he was staying with the Razorbacks.

His statement: “Although I do not consider it appropriate to discuss the personnel searches of other universities or colleges, I feel it’s important to address recent speculation about me and the athletics director position at another prestigious institution. Although I can’t be responsible for what others are saying or thinking, I do know that I am not interested in leaving the University of Arkansas. My interest and commitment continues to be providing leadership to the University of Arkansas and to Razorback athletics at this critical time in our program’s history.”

Earlier, West Virginia AD Oliver (Father of Andrew) Luck took himself out of the running. I had certainly done my part to fan the flames of a Luck-to-Stanford push, and I still think he’d be a terrific candidate. But WVU’s president, Jim Clements, told the Charleston Gazette that Luck isn’t going anywhere.

“I sat down with Oliver,” Clements said. “I told him I need to know because I’ve been getting inquiries, calls and texts, and he said, ‘Jim, I love it here; I’m a Mountaineer; I’m staying.’

“He’s doing a great job. We need him. We have a good team in place. He’s made it clear: He’s staying.”

When Provost and Acting President John Etchemendy announced that Deputy AD Patrick Dunkley would serve as interim AD after Bob Bowlsby leaves in mid-June to become Big 12 commissioner, the school said it exects to have a successor in place by September. So the process has a long way to go under co-chairs Robert Simoni and Jeff Wachtel.